The only thing that could possibly make a flaky, crispy scallion pancake sound better to me is a layer of cheese. Ideally melty, stringy cheesy that stretches when you tear into the pancake. Heaven, no? If that sounds like something that would be up your alley, too – well, Cheesy Scallion Pancakes might be for you.
I’m not the most perfect scallion pancake maker, but this recipe never lets me down when it comes to holding in the fillings. As cheese oozes out, it crisps on the edges of the pancakes, making the interior all melty and the exterior crisp. I like to pair this with my Gochujang Tomato Soup, because who needs grilled cheese when you have these?
Table of contents
What ingredients make up the scallion pancake dough?
What’s crazy about scallion pancakes is how simple they are, for the base all you will need is:
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour – make sure you use all-purpose here, other flours will either develop too much or too little gluten.
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt – use half if you plan on using a finer grain salt such as Morton’s
- 1/2 cup boiling water, 115 grams – the water MUST be boiling, I like using a tea kettle for this!
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil – this can also be olive oil or canola oil, but I prefer sesame for the taste.
How to make the scallion pancake filling
The scallion pancake filling is another easy element. It takes a few minutes and is great to make while the scallion pancake dough is resting. First, you will need:
- 6 ounces scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru, optional
- 1/4 cup canola oil, 60 grams, plus more for rolling out
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 35 grams
To make the filling, add the scallions, sesame seeds and gochugaru to a heat-safe bowl. Put the canola oil over heat until it’s smoky and slightly wispy. Immediately pour it over the scallion mixture and stir. Add the flour and mix again.
When you are layering the pancakes, layer this with grated cheese and you’ll get the perfect cheese + scallion layers.
Rolling up the cheesy scallion pancake dough
Scallion pancakes are interesting, they seem hard, but you just need to be a bit delicate to get the perfect pancake.
Step 1. Cut the dough into four equal pieces
Step 2: Lightly oil the counter with canola oil. Roll out each dough piece to around an 11 by 7-inch rectangle, but it doesn’t need to be perfect. Just make sure one side is longer than the other.
Step 3: Add 1/4 cup of the scallion filling and 1 ounce of shredded cheese. Spread it out evenly.
Step 4: Roll up the LONG side of the dough, meaning that you are making the longest log possible.
Step 5: Roll this long into a coil (see image above).
Step 6: Place this coil between two sheets of parchment paper or wax paper and let it rest for 3-5 minutes.
Step 7: Gently roll the coil out into a pancake that is 1/4-inch thick (see image below).
Prepping, storing and freezing the scallion pancake dough
My favorite thing about cheesy scallion pancakes is that you can make a batch and freeze them for later. They can come right out of the freezer and onto the cast iron pan, and *boom* they will be done in minutes!
The best way to freeze them for future use is between two pieces of parchment paper. Then layer them and put them in an air-tight container or ziploc bag. They will keep frozen for 6 months.
You could also make these fully, and freeze them after. They will keep frozen for 6 months, and to reheat, simply put them all on a baking sheet and warm in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes.
If you’d like to keep these in the fridge, they will keep for up to four days in a ziploc bag or air-tight container.
Looking for what to eat this with?
These are multi-functional, but they go particularly well with this recipe:
And that’s everything for these Cheesy Scallion Pancakes!
If you make these, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Cheesy Scallion Pancakes
Equipment
- 1 Small Pot
- Rolling Pin
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For the pancake dough
- 1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 158 grams, plus 1 heaping tablespoon (12 grams) for kneading
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 cup boiling water 115 grams
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
For the scallion filling
- 6 ounces scallions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru optional
- 1/4 cup canola oil 60 grams, plus more for rolling out the dough above
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 35 grams
- 4 ounces low moisture mozzarella grated
For griddling
- Canola oil
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 158 grams flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Pour over 115 grams boiling water and use a fork to quickly whisk this together into a shaggy dough.
- Add in 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and mix with your hand. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes, adding up to 12 grams of flour as needed to make a smooth ball. Then put it back in the bowl and set it aside to rest while you prepare the scallion filling.
- To a heat-safe bowl, add the thinly sliced scallions, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, and 1 teaspoon gochugaru.
- Add 60 grams of canola oil to a small pot. Put it over medium-high heat and heat up for 2-3 minutes, or until wisps of smoke are coming off the top. It's a small amount of oil so it will happen quickly. Immediately pour this over the scallion mixture (it will sizzle so be careful!).
- Mix in the 35 grams of flour. It will be a bit clumpy, but that's normal.
- Now, lightly oil a work surface with canola oil. Roll the rested dough into a log, then cut the log into four even pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into roughly an 11 by 7-inch rectangle. Spread 3-4 tablespoons of the scallion mixture onto the dough. Sprinkle with 1 ounce of cheese. Roll this up the long side of the dough so that the roll is as long as possible. Then twist this log into a tight coil (see the blog post for reference).
- Place each coil between two sheets of wax paper or parchment paper. Let them rest for 3 minutes before using a rolling pin to gently roll the coil into a pancake that is 1/4-inch thick. Some filling will pop out, and that's totally fine (and will be delicious).
- From here you can either freeze the pancakes and griddle them later (there will be no change to the cooking process) or griddle them right away. I find it's easier to handle them when they are cold, so if you can pop the finished pancakes in the freezer while you prep the others, that will help with the frying.
- Place a 12-inch cast iron pan over medium heat. Add a drizzle of canola oil. Season the top of each scallion pancake with a liberal sprinkling of salt and fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden.
- Serve as warm as possible for the ultimate cheese pulls 🙂
Looks fantastic! Adding it to my grocery list. 🙂
Hope you’ll love it!
I think this is the first of Justine’s recipes I’ve struggled with, and I’ve tried countless here and in the cookbook. There was way too much oil. I ended up straining my scallion mixture before adding it in, which helped, but the process and the result were still a bit oily for my taste. I weighed all my ingredients, and had probably 5.5 oz of scallions instead of 6. Not sure what else could have gone wrong. Thanks anyway for the fun idea!
Oh no!! I’m so sorry to hear this – did you add the flour to the scallion mixture after adding the oil? That usually soaks it all right up!
Pretty good! I prepped these for when I make the soup later in the week but I had to try one today. I didn’t have enough scallions so I halved the filling recipe but it still tasted good. Also, there was more than enough oil seeping out of the dough that I didn’t need to add any extra to the pan. From start to finish it took me about an hour, so I don’t know how often I’ll make it, but definitely a fun addition/alternative to a grilled cheese.
I haven’t tried these yet and I would love to, but I no longer eat seed oil here in the United States. Butter, I love butter! Or good extra-virgin olive oil. I’m sure either would work well. I’ll let you know.
These were so good! Scallions at the store were looking very sad so replaced them with leeks and that worked really well. There was enough oil in the batter that toasted them dry. Will be making them again tonight!
So so happy you liked them!!
These were delicious with the caramelized gochujang tomato soup. Didn’t have a problem with them being too oily, they were perfect using ingredients by weight. Thanks for the great recipes!
These were AMAZING! Perfect scallion pancakes and the mozzarella makes them next level! The recipe worked out perfectly and I even subbed olive oil for the canola oil since that’s what I had.
I’m so glad it worked out! Glad you liked it <3
Love your recipes. You have gifted taste buds! Wondering if you’ve tried avocado oil or olive oil as opposed to canola? Would you be afraid it would change the taste too much or maybe if I use the Bertolli light olive oil? Avocado would be my first choice. I’m sure you tried different oils before you landed on Canola, but wanted your thoughts. Thank you. btw- made the delicious soup tonight and I’m making the scallion pancakes to go with. You made it look too good to resist the pairing!
Hello! Avocado oil would be great – the only thing you are looking for is a neutral tasting oil with a high smoke point. So avocado, vegetable, or canola all work well. Olive oil has a lower smoke point but you may be able to get away with the Bertolli one since it’s processed differently 🙂 (and I’m so glad you liked the soup!)
Is it safe to assume you mean regular (not toasted) sesame oil? I currently have all the ingredients, but only have toasted sesame oil. Thanks!
That’s correct – toasted will still work, it just has a flavor that’s more pronounced.
Thank you for your recipes!
Can i omit the mozzarella for a vegan version?
Absolutely! It’ll cook down the same 🙂
Do you think there is any chance subbing a 1:1 gluten free flour could work here? I might give it a try.
I haven’t personally tested it, and since this dough stretches pretty thinly I would be nervous to recommend it. But if you try it please let me know how it goes!